Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4) novel Chapter 7

Uri cuddled against her.

“We get up early on Mondays,” he said, whispering in her ear.

“What time is it?”

She felt as if they had just gone to bed.

“Six am.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. That’s hardly six hours of sleep.”

“You had a nap yesterday afternoon."

Uri flipped off the covers.

“You’ll be accompanying me to work today.”

He pulled her out of bed.

“Hey.”

He showered with her again but didn’t wash her hair, but he did condition it again.

“Not the cold water. No. Brrr.”

Uri chuckled and handed her a towel.

When she came out of the bathroom, he handed her a black and red suit to put on. There was a pencil skirt with a short jacket. He already had an off-white blouse laying on the bed to go with it.

While she dressed, she noticed his tattoos were gone. She figured he was covering them up after he shaved.

“I would like to see how you do that.”

“Do what?” he said as he straightened his tie.

“Cover the tattoos.”

“Liquid skin,” he said. “Let’s go.”

He took her hand and led her downstairs. Breakfast was in the dining room. At her setting was the expected sanguine tea. She chugged it down. Mag immediately served her hot tea. Breakfast was another omelet.

When she finished her omelet, she found Uri staring at her.

“What?”

“You need some different jewelry before you go out. Mag.”

Mag entered at a fast pace. She was carrying a box.

“Besides, you shouldn’t be wearing anything your parents can identify with you. Take out your earrings,” he said, opening the box.

It was full of jewelry. He handed her a pair of simple studs. The gems were black. Then, he rose to put a black pearl necklace around her neck. He took her old earrings and gave them to Mag, who then disappeared back into the kitchen.

“I’m not getting a tattoo, am I?”

He chuckled.

“I don’t think I can answer that question. The tattoos mark us as Viperian and also denotes our family lineage.”

“But you cover yours up.”

“No tattoo then I must not be a Viperian,” he said with a smile.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It will. Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand, leading her out the door and into the limo.

“You will be an intern today. Do what I say and speak as little as possible to everyone,” he said when the limo turned onto the street.

“Okay.”

“You’re still illegal, so until we get you proper ID, you stay close.”

“Why can’t I just stay in Viperia?”

“It’s raining.”

Natalia rolled her eyes. It wasn’t raining, or at least not yet.

“Do you not know what an umbrella is?”

He gave her a look, but it was serious.

“It has come to my attention that you are not popular in Viperia and, therefore, not safe.”

“Why?”

“There is the belief that you are distracting me too much from my job.”

“Am I?”

“No, you are part of my job, but there are many who don’t realize this or don’t know this as it isn’t public knowledge.”

“Oh.”

“And if you are ever alone and find a Viperian woman coming toward you, run.”

“What? Why? How do I know she’s Viperian?”

“She’s probably been sent to bite you.”

“What will that do? Make me want to become a lesbian?”

“No.”

He almost broke a smile, but then remained serious.

“A Viperian woman’s bite can make you abort the baby. You’re not immune enough yet.”

“So, how can I tell? If I don’t see a tattoo, how do I know?”

“On the right hand, middle finger, will be a ring. Any ring. Doesn’t matter what it looks like. We are usually black haired and green eyed, but genetics have changed with the interbreeding of non-Viperians. We are seeing brunettes and hazel eyes. No blondes or blue eyes, yet.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“Good. This is serious.”

The limo slowed, and then stopped. The doors unlocked and a woman entered the limo.

“Good morning, Uri. Nattie.”

Natalia found herself automatically nod in acknowledgment, speechless that she was even greeted.

“Good morning, Sophie. How are you doing this fine morning?” Uri said.

“Excellent. Thanks for the ride.”

“Congratulations on your promotion.”

“So nice of Thomas to retire,” she said with a knowing smile.

Natalia took note of a ring on her right hand, just like Uri said. Sophie also had black hair and green eyes and looked to be in her thirties. She wore a dark gray suit in a similar style that Natalia wore. Her breasts were large and straining against her blouse. There was no evidence of a tattoo, however, considering how well Uri hid his, she wasn’t surprised.

“Congrats to you as well.”

Sophie’s eyes shifted to Natalia, then back to Uri.

“Thank you,” he said. “It’s caused a stir.”

Sophie nodded.

“I’ve heard. Maybe you should put a guard dog on her.”

“First, I must find one that isn’t tilted, so that’s one of my jobs today: to be guard dog.”

“It’s going to be a busy day,” Sophie said with a slight shake of her head.

“Yes, I know,” he said with a wave of his hand in Natalia’s direction. “Meet my new intern.”

Sophie smiled.

“That will probably work. And with everyone so busy, she’ll hardly be noticed.”

“I’ll get her sorting files. No one wanted to spare anyone to do it, but it has to get done.”

“They are so backward.”

“Banks like paper,” he said.

The limo pulled up to the main bank. Natalia expected Sophie to get out, which she did, but she didn’t expect to be pulled out by Uri.

“The bank? You work at the bank?”

He smiled, then released her hand.

“Stay close,” he said.

Sophie was already in the building. Everyone was walking fast as if they were late. Uri walked fast, as well, and she had to move quickly to keep up with him. They paused at the door for a security check.

“New intern. Nattie Osrisca,” Uri said to the guard after he showed his id. “I’ll be getting her a badge today.”

“Cousin, niece…” the guard said with a grin.

“Wife,” Uri said.

“Then she’s not your intern. She’s your boss.”

The guard laughed and waved them through.

Uri rolled his eyes.

“Wife?” Natalia said under her breath.

Uri ignored her while he led her to the row of elevators crowed with people. The elevators were busy, but there was so many of them that the flow of people in and out of them moved quickly. It wasn’t long before they stuffed themselves into one. He made sure she was in first so that she didn’t get left behind.

Natalia watched the floors. The elevator made frequent stops, but they remained on until it reached the twenty-fourth. It was the top floor of the building. They were now the only ones on the elevator.

The elevator door opened.

“Good morning, Mr. Osrisca.”

The woman standing by the door was obviously waiting for him. She was not a Viperian. She had graying brown hair that she wore in a bun. Over her blue dress, she wore a black blazer. There was no jewelry on her, except for a plain gold wedding ring.

“Morning, Bailey.”

Bailey handed him a cup of tea.

“We have a meeting first thing this morning, however, not everyone has arrived,” Bailey said.

She carried a device that she was consulting. Natalia figured it had Uri’s schedule.

“Bailey, this is Nattie. She’s intern for the day. Take her over and show her the files that need to be sorted. Make everyone know that I had to pull strings to get her and to get this job done.”

“Yes, sir, right away.”

They reached the door to an office with a gold name plate.

“One last thing, Bailey…”

“Yes, sir?”

Natalia noted the gold name plate said Uri Osrisca, Vice President/Controller.

“Get Nattie a cup of tea.”

“Yes, sir. This way Nattie.”

Uri disappeared into his office. Natalia found herself following Bailey. Bailey walked faster than Uri, heading down the hall. She said nothing to the people they passed. No one said anything to them. They reached what looked to be a storage closet.

“All the boxes with the yellow notes on them need to be alphabetized. Not within each box, but across all boxes. So that box would contain A through C and that box would be D though F, like that.”

“I see,” Natalia said.

“Do you want cream and sugar in your tea?”

“Yes, please.”

Bailey was gone in an instant.

Natalia looked at the boxes and counted. There were over thirty boxes.

“No wonder no one wanted this job,” she said to herself. “There’s no room to empty all the boxes. There’s no room to even stage the boxes.”

She gazed around at the space she did have.

“Lovely. I guess this is what I would expect they would give an intern. The crappy work. The brainless work.”

She pulled out the files in one box and began to methodically sort. A few minutes later, Bailey appeared with a mug of tea, and then, was gone, again.

Natalia sorted, aware of the steady stream of people that passed the door. A short time later, there was no traffic at all. She had no idea what the time was, but guessed that everyone was now settled in their office or a meeting. However, a short time later, a man and woman darted into the closet with a giggle.

“Oops. Sorry. This is occupied,” the woman said.

Natalia noted the black hair, green eyes, and the ring on her finger. The man, however, was white haired and probably old enough to be her father. Based on the fact that he had his hand on the woman’s ass, they were acting more like lovers.

“So sorry,” the man said, and the pair left.

At one point, Natalia left to find a restroom. The people she did see in offices were all busy either working on a computer or engaged in phone calls. There was a clock she was able to see, and it was now well after ten am. She went back to her closet, wondering if Uri was to get her lunch or if she was on her own. She was starting to get hungry. If she was on her own for lunch that was going to pose a problem. She didn’t know where to go and had no money.

A woman paused at the door to stare at her. She had all the traits of a Viperian. A long moment later, she walked on. Natalia realized with anxiety that the closet was a trap. There was no place to run. She stepped up, shut the door, and turned the lock. Someone on the outside would need a key to get in.

She returned to sorting when a short time later, there was a knock on the door.

“Who’s there?” she said, feeling rather stupid.

“Uri.”

She opened the door.

“Good idea,” he said, not questioning the locked door. “Let’s get some lunch.”